PREPARATION TIME: 40 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 10 MINUTES
SERVES: 4
MADERAS FISH TACOS
I’ve been waiting to create this dish for ages. It takes me back to my time in Central America and more specifically to Playa Maderas (Maderas Beach) where the days were long, the sun always shone and the surf was perfect. And after a long surf there was nothing better than returning to the tiny little beachfront kitchen to have a fish taco, perfectly fresh and full of flavour thanks to the jerk seasoning, a Jamaican spice mix. Just what you need in summer before a little read, a siesta and another surf.
BLACK BEANS AND CORN
400 g (14 oz) tin black beans, drained and rinsed
310 g (11 oz) tin corn kernels, drained
½ red onion, finely diced
½ long green chilli, or to taste, seeds and membrane removed, finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
TASTY SALSA
1 ripe avocado, diced
3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
½ red onion, finely diced
½ red capsicum (pepper), seeds and membrane removed, diced
3 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup coriander (cilantro) leaves
juice of 1 lime
FISH
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) skinless snapper fillets (or any other firm white-fleshed fish), cut into 2 cm (¾ inch) chunks
1 tablespoon jerk seasoning
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil, for frying
8 small soft white corn tortillas, wrapped in foil and warmed in the oven, to serve
grilled lime halves and coriander (cilantro) leaves, to serve
To make the black beans and corn, combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, season, and set aside until needed for your tacos.
For the salsa, place the avocado in a large bowl and roughly crush. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Season to taste.
Place the fish pieces in a bowl, sprinkle over the jerk seasoning and toss to coat.
Heat the grapeseed oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium–high heat and cook the fish, in batches for 2–3 minutes or until cooked through. The fish will go a deep golden colour with the spice mix. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towel.
To serve, place the warm tortillas, black beans and corn, salsa and grilled limes on the table and let everyone dig in!
